At Kansas State, Team Goals and an Individual Honor Mesh

When Bill Snyder arrived at Kansas State in 1989, he brought his “16 Goals for Success.” In 1998, at the height of his program’s success, he would quiz his quarterback, Michael Bishop, at their weekly team meetings each Friday. Meticulous in his approach, Snyder would present Bishop, or any player for that matter, with a situation — for example, it’s third down, the defense is playing a Cover-3, and the cornerbacks are readying to jam the receivers at the line of scrimmage — and ask: What play do we call?

In front of the team, Bishop, a Heisman Trophy finalist that year, would be expected to answer correctly. And for good measure, Snyder would sometimes ask: And what is goal No. 9?

The 16 goals, of which No. 9 is to eliminate mistakes, were the intrinsic principles Snyder used in helping turn Kansas State from the nation’s worst college football program when he began his first stint as its coach in 1989 to its first No. 1 ranking in that 1998 season. On Sunday, in the midst of Snyder’s second tour at the helm and with the 16 goals still in place, the Wildcats were ranked third in the Bowl Championship Series standings with another Heisman contender, Collin Klein, at quarterback.

In a 41-point victory against West Virginia on Saturday, Klein scored seven touchdowns — passing for three scores and rushing for four — to put himself atop the Heisman race. If Klein exemplifies Snyder’s option offense at its best, he does the same for Snyder’s 16 goals.

Collin Klein was lightly recruited coming out of high school in Loveland, Colo., in 2008, when he committed to play for Ron Prince, who was replaced by Snyder to start the 2009 season.

“I mean this as a compliment, the kid is straight-lined; it was almost like recruiting a kid out of 1950,” said Vanderbilt Coach James Franklin, the former offensive coordinator who recruited Klein.

Photo

With Collin Klein at quarterback, Kansas State is 7-0 after blowing out West Virginia.Credit
Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

“He was, ‘yes sir.’ He was, ‘no sir.’ He was unbelievably polite,” Franklin said. “Very spiritual. I mean, if you had a checklist in all the things you were looking for in a football player, and all the things that you were looking for in someone to date or marry your daughter, he had all those things.”

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The buzz around Klein began last season, Klein’s first as a starter, when he first orchestrated Snyder’s offense in a productive, unassuming manner. He won 10 games and ran for 27 touchdowns, a Football Bowl Subdivision record for a quarterback.

The strides of the 6-foot-5, 226-pound Klein are long and tall, his arms flap at his side as he gains speed, and he looks every inch of 6-5, especially when he lowers his pads to take defenders head on. His father said he played through broken ribs, a cracked sternum, a separated throwing shoulder and a broken thumb on his throwing hand last season.

Goal No. 5 is to be tough; goal No. 7 is to give a great effort.

Klein’s feet dance in the pocket, and he cocks the ball near his ear, then unfurls javelinlike spirals. It does not appear effortless, but it has been more than effective as Klein is ranked the second-most efficient quarterback in the F.B.S., and he has completed 70.5 percent of his passes.

It took dedication in the off-season as Klein worked to improve his accuracy (57.3 percent last season), according to his father, who, deferring to Snyder’s tight-lipped approach to running his team, declined to name a program or mentor that helped his son. His father did say that Klein was invited to the Manning Passing Academy.

Goal No. 4 is to improve. Goal No. 6 is self-discipline. And goal No. 12 is no self-limitations.

Klein seemed to put on a one-man show Saturday, scoring on seven consecutive drives, none more spectacular than another. The awe has come in the result, and the Wildcats’ 7-0 start, running the same option plays they did in 1998. That year, Bishop said a lack of publicity from playing in small-town Manhattan, Kan., hurt his Heisman chances.

Although the way he runs, with subtle head nods and side steps, is more understated, Klein has validated Snyder’s principles, his play loud and clear.

A version of this article appears in print on October 22, 2012, on Page D2 of the New York edition with the headline: At Kansas State, Team Goals and an Individual Honor Mesh. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe